In the just-concluded Beijing Winter Olympics, in addition to the eye-catching performances of athletes, the cars that appeared at the Winter Olympics were also eye-opening. As the world's largest single market for electric vehicles, electric vehicles with battery storage will undoubtedly play an important role in the Winter Olympics.
But at this Beijing Winter Olympics, hydrogen energy vehicles shined. This is not only the credit of Toyota, the official partner of this Winter Olympics, but also the unique advantages of hydrogen energy vehicles in the cold weather of this year's Winter Olympics.
But in a Winter Olympics, will hydrogen energy vehicles be short-lived, or will they explode?
At present, the hydrogen energy vehicles on the market are roughly divided into two categories, hydrogen engine vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Hydrogen engine cars are well understood, that is, to retain the basic structure of gasoline engines, and after slight changes to the fuel supply system, the engine that uses hydrogen as fuel drives the car.
Car companies' research on hydrogen engine vehicles began very early, and BMW was one of the pioneers.
In 2011, BMW based on the F10 760Li transformation of the hydrogen energy 7 series concept car, the engine directly followed the former's 6.0L V12 engine, the fuel system slightly modified, and the fuel tank into a hydrogen storage tank, you can turn a fuel car into a hydrogen fuel engine car, the cost of transformation is relatively low.
At the Japan S Endurance Race last year, Toyota Group helmsman Akio Toyoda and his teammates raced in a Carrolla hydrogen engine car. Its powertrain is derived from the GR YARiS's 1.6T three-cylinder engine, which was also revamped by retrofitting the fuel supply system, which can be filled up in 5 minutes during the race, which is very suitable for the faster stop rhythm of the endurance race.
But hydrogen-engined cars have two fatal problems – low efficiency, poor power and emissions.
Compared with fuel cells with higher conversion efficiency, the combustion efficiency of hydrogen engines is not much different from that of ordinary engines, but the power output is cut off - the engine power output is only 191kW, which is far away from the gasoline version of the same engine.
At the same time, the emissions of hydrogen engines are not pollution-free, although hydrogen combustion generates water, but nitrogen oxides generated by nitrogen in the air at high temperatures cannot be avoided. Although it is only a small amount, it is not as zero emissions as many people say, just zero carbon emissions.
So now only people like Akio Toyoda who are committed to bringing the joy of handling customers in a more low-carbon way will still be committed to the research and development of hydrogen engines.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are widely used now. In fact, the chemical reaction of the fuel cell is still the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to generate water, but in the fuel cell, the electron migration associated with the chemical reaction becomes the main way of energy release.
These electron migrations form an electric current that powers the motor and battery with a higher energy conversion efficiency. The energy conversion efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells is now as high as 80-90%, and only oxygen in the air participates in the reaction, and there is no need to worry about nitrogen oxide emissions. The resulting water can still be drunk directly.
And because it is a pure electric drive, the feeling of its power output is not much different from that of pure electric vehicles, and the power comes very quickly.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are also very eye-catching at this Winter Olympics, and Toyota, as the official partner of the Olympic Games, has brought two new models, the second-generation MIRAI and Costa Hydrogen Engine.
Mirai has been Toyota's hydrogen car system since its debut in 2013, the first generation of MIRAI uses the same horizontal platform as the Prius, and the second generation uses the GA-L rear-drive platform used by Lexus LS/LC, which is more suitable for arranging large-capacity hydrogen storage tanks, so the hydrogen storage capacity is increased by 30%.
The hydrogenation technology of the second generation of MIRAI has been very mature, it can be filled in 5 minutes, the mileage of a full cruising range can reach 850km, and the measured mileage is up to 1360km in a specific driving state, and the battery life anxiety is much less than that of pure electric vehicles.
Since its debut in 2013, mirai has sold more than 10,000 units worldwide, which is negligible in the global automotive market, but as a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, this number is already quite large.
Hydrogen, as an efficient combustible gas, is most suitable as a fuel, but the way hydrogen releases energy is mainly to react with oxygen in the air, generating water, no pollution and zero emissions. And hydrogenation is as convenient as refueling, which is the biggest advantage of hydrogen as a fuel.
The hydrogen energy vehicles of the Winter Olympics shined brightly, and even stole the limelight of some pure electric vehicles, in large part because the current winter use of pure electric vehicles still has considerable inconvenience.
Pure electric vehicles in low temperature use will still have a battery life, slow charging speed, and even unsuccessful charging phenomenon, which brings great inconvenience to pure electric vehicle users. The reason is that the chemical reaction rate of the chemical batteries currently used in pure electric vehicles will slow down at low temperatures, and even the chemical reaction will be incomplete.
This is also the root cause of slower charging speeds and reduced range.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are not the same, low temperature will only affect the reaction speed of the fuel cell stack, which may cause the power of the vehicle to be affected a little. However, in terms of endurance, because the fuel cell stack is to release energy by reacting hydrogen and oxygen bit by bit, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will not be too limited in terms of endurance. Ideal for use in cold environments.
However, the preparation, transportation and storage of hydrogen has always been the biggest problem of hydrogen energy vehicles, and the explosive nature of hydrogen makes it difficult to store hydrogen, requiring a high degree of sealing hydrogen tanks, and the manufacturing cost is not low.
Although hydrogenation is as convenient as refueling in many cases, there is no trickle effect like fast charging, but the requirements for sealing of hydrogenation also make the operation of hydrogenation more complicated than refueling and charging.
This determines that many industries related to hydrogen, such as large-scale hydrogen production, hydrogen transportation and hydrogenation services, are heavy asset operations, and the entry threshold is very high.
Just like gas stations, gas stations have to occupy a large area of personnel, and the cost of equipment such as gas guns and oil storage tanks is not small. Therefore, a considerable part of the gas stations are supported by the national oil giants. The rest of the gas stations are either very small or multinational giants in the domestic layout of gas stations, small companies can hardly afford.
But the charging station is not the same, the operating assets of the charging station are very light, as long as the charging pile is installed in the parking lot, send less than two people to maintain the charging equipment on the line, the operating cost is very low. This has also led to a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises pouring into the charging service market, and the popularity of charging services is wider.
Therefore, if hydrogen energy vehicles are to be popularized, the most important thing is that state-owned enterprises should take on the heavy responsibility of building hydrogen-related infrastructure, after all, if you don't build hydrogen refueling stations, then there really is no one to go. Therefore, how much of a boost the hydrogen energy-related infrastructure of the Winter Olympics will be, it will take some time to observe.